I'm sure this topic will build after a while, after enough debate has ironed out the details. So I'll start off small with a very basic breakdown of the unique Takaran military rank system. It's essentially a hodgepodge of Mongol, German, and English ranks with some original takes from someone woefully unacquainted with military procedure. Should it change (odds are it will), I'll edit to reflect.

Group (# of soldiers) +1 Group Leader RankBetween Groups Rank (Exists, but the OLD Court says it's not necessary for acceptable operation.

As you can see, everything is based on 10 and 1. A Standard is made up of 10 Aravs and their commanders, and a Mingahn is made up of 10 Standards and their commanders.

NOTE: The Holt Honour Guard does not utilize this traditional Takaran rank system, mostly because of Cassius' amazing ability to take what he likes from other cultures and then take credit for it himself.

The central islands which would become the Unified Kingdom of Terra had formed into several small princedoms and petty kingdoms in the six centuries following the final decline and collapse of the Calligian Empire. Among the most powerful was the Principality of Terra, whose central position within the entire group of islands allowed its princes to get rich off the profits of serving as a clearing house for all trade from the islands and from the other northern kingdoms, who, at that point, had been starting to rebuild themselves as well, especially Antar to the north.

Approximately 150 years ago, the last Prince of Terra made a grave mistake in escalating an agreement over the taxation of lumber with the Duchy of Eduria into a full blown war. The Duke of Eduria, Edwin the Strong, was one of the first proponents of the use of massed ranged infantry in battle, and with three thousand bowmen and men at arms, he first defeated a much more poorly organized and slightly larger Terran Army. Forming an alliance with the neighbouring duchies of Cunaris and Centauri, Duke Edwin launched an invasion of the island city proper, both Edurian archers and the formidable twin knightly orders of Saint Joshua and Saint Jerome converged on the city, transported by ships from the shipyards of Centaur, famous even then. The Prince of Terra surrendered without a fight and was exiled from the city, Duke Edwin of Eduria took his place.

However, Edwin had far grander plans, after assuring powerful positions within the new political order for his allies, the Dukes of Cunaris and Centauri, Edwin proclaimed the Unified Kingdom of Terra, and proclaimed himself as king, establishing a new calender: the Edurian Dynastic Year (EDY). Before his death twenty three years later, Edwin would establish Terra's government and standardize the widely different systems of measurement and taxation within his new domains. His successors would add the small Principality of Warburton to the domain and steadily increase Terra's military, especially her navy. In the end, it would be two extraordinary kings which would allow Terra to one day aspire to a place in the ranks of the great powers.

Edmund the Magnificent and Alaric Spitfire:

The Reign of Edmund II, called "The Magnificent" started in 68 EDY. His fourteen year reign was marked by an extravagance rarely seen. It was at this point that Terra courted alliance with the distant Elven nation of Takara, and in pursuit of this goal, King Edmund began a series of massive public works to beautify his capital. The two most important were the Northern Fortress, the great tower which would become the seat for all subsequent Terran monarchs, and the walls, a massive curtain of stone which would eventually encompass the entire city. A known patron of the arts, King Edmund spent millions of crowns on these projects, though the Takarans, in their typically aloof manner, refused to deal with any human monarch. When Edmund died (believed to be a suicide) a disappointed and broken man in 82 EDY, the kingdom was nearly broke, starving and on the verge of open rebellion.

Edmund's eldest son, Alaric, was a completely different character from his father. As a teenager, he had earned the nickname "Spitfire" for the merciless streams of invective and sarcastic insult he would often heap on his political enemies, usually right to their faces. When he ascended the throne, he quickly set himself apart from his father by writing two long, exquisitely worded and highly insulting letters, one to the Takaran Emperor (Reportedly calling the Lord Emperor's mother a whore in fifty three different ways), the other to the nobles of Antar in the north. Having cut off relations with the fickle elves, Alaric instead courted their mortal enemies, the Vykkians to the south, creating a favourable trading relationship which introduced paper, gunpowder and advanced mechanics to the Unified Kingdom.

The letter to Antar, also served a purpose. The Antari magnates, incensed by this new Terran king, called a trade embargo on the island nation. At that time, Antar had a very large merchant fleet, but very little in the way of armed warships, whilst Terra's merchant marine was tiny, instead relying on the vessels of other nations to come to the capital. It did, on the other hand, have a very modern and substantial navy. Following the declaration of the embargo, Alaric found a pretense to dismiss all but six of the slowest and largest warships from his service, handed all of their captains letters of marque and a single order:

"Make for Antar, keep two thirds, give the rest to me. Rob the bastards blind."

Within two years, Antar no longer had a merchant fleet worth mentioning, and Terra had become one of the richest nations in the north.

Having refilled Terra's coffers and reassured its people, Alaric continued the expansion of the realm, forging alliance with the minor nations which shared the same region of ocean as Terra, as well as suborning the Duchy of Wulfram into the Unified Kingdom by using a famine to place the large Duchy into the position owing Terra a ridiculous amount of money. By the time Alaric died in 109 EDY, Terra was still not a great power, but most in the world saw it as a rising star among the human nations.

Recent History and the Dozen Years' War:

When Alaric son Edwin IV died and his son, the 16 year old Michel I took the throne in 129 EDY, Terra was still predominantly a naval power, retaining a professional, but small land army and relying on the private forces of each of the five duchies to protect it in times of war. It was at this time that Antar's notoriously inefficient government was finally able to recover enough from its setbacks of three decades before to be confident enough to declare war on Terra. On land, the two nations were even more of a mismatch than they were at sea. Terra's tiny Royal Army of 1800 was nothing compared to the nearly twenty thousand strong men-at-arms and the fifteen thousand famous wingÃ¨d hussars of Antar, let along the half million peasant levies they could also field.

The young King Michel knew that the Antari navy was no match for his, but he was determined not to simply sit behind his navy as the Antari plucked away his domains one by one. Marshalling his tiny army and assembling the forces of his vassals under one command, he led a relatively tiny expeditionary force of six thousand north, landing in Southern Antar. Splitting up into regimental, and later, company sized units, the Royal Army would skulk in the great forests of Antar, striking quickly with superior tactics and where least expected. Infantry would march six leagues a day, setting hundreds of fires among the crops all along the way, while the cavalry, especially the improvised regiment of merchant cavalry assembled by Johann Findlay, the Duke of Cunaris, would strike from the forests at a dozen villages and towns at once, tying up tens of thousands of Antari troops with a force of less than twelve hundred.

After twelve years of fighting, the Royal Expeditionary Force had turned into an experienced, well motivated and cohesive army, bold enough even to make brazen and open attacks on Antari fortresses and walled cities, whilst the Antari were bankrupt, exhausted and on the verge of starvation. The Terrans controlled the forests of the north and most of the south, finally, they rode up to the gates of the Antari capital itself, and an armistice was signed, one that gave Terra massive reparations and left the Antari congress of magnates bitter in defeat. Six months later, King Michel was assassinated while on board his flagship during fleet maneuvers.

Two years later, in EDY 143, his younger sister, Isabella takes the throne as Queen Isobel I. This is where IB begins.

The duty uniforms (covered here) of the New Model Army are similar to those worn by the British Army during WWI, with a few anachronisms from the Napoleonic and 7 Years' War thrown in. Note that the uniform colours are, for the most part, Olive Green and Dark Red.

Spoiler: click to toggle

(Left) A Drummer Girl (Usually an Ensign or an Officer-Cadet) of the 4th Regiment of FootDrummers have it very hard in the New Model Army. Not only are they expected to fight and naturally, measure out the pace of any march, advance or retreat, they are also expected to defend the colour sergeant with their shotguns.

(Right) A trooper of the Cuirassier RegimentThe Cuirassiers are the armoured hammer of the New Model Army, equipped with heavy, high-grade steel breastplates and long lances, they are expected to strike the final blows of major engagement through the shock of a frontal charge into an exposed position, breaking the enemy line.

Spoiler: click to toggle

(Left) A 2nd Lieutenant of Hussars. The Jacket is a lighter, Bottle Green.Hussars are extremely light troops. Speed and stamina are prized over all else in the Hussar Regiment, seeing as they are often used as scouts, screens for the heavier Cuirassiers or Dragoons, or, in particularly large engagements, as runners between the different parts of the battlefield.

(Right) A Colonel of the Royal General Staff (Note the Quill and Sword shoulder flash)Established in EDY 144, the Royal General Staff serves as a body of senior officers who take reports from the field, process them and present them, along with their own evaluations, to Her Majesty the Queen. They also decide the tactical doctrine and strategic deployment of the Royal Army. The General Staff is headed by the Councillor Militant and is equal to the Terran Admiralty.

Spoiler: click to toggle

(Left) A Private of the Grenadier GuardsOriginally trained as longbow men, the soldiers of the Edurian House Guards were retrained as heavy shock troops, taking advantage of previous experience in both ranged and melee combat, as well as the large number of Dozen Years' War veterans. Grenadiers are equipped with a large number of "potato masher" hand grenades and basic engineering equipment.

(Right) Leftenant-Colonel Lucian MacNeill of the Centauri Highlands RegimentOriginally the core of House Havenport's private army, the Centauri Highlanders became one of the founding units of the new Model Army due to its exceptional service in quelling rebellion in its native Centauri during the Civil War. Highlanders carry special equipment, including the massive, straight bladed, Claymore. This weapon, and their skill in using it, cemented the Highlanders' status as shock troops. The Highlanders have no shoulder flash, in the words of their commander, Leftenant-Colonel MacNeill; "Badges? We've got our swords and our pipes! We dinnae need bloody badges!" (The actual Colonel is Lord Marcus Havenport, heir to the Duchy of Centauri)

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum